1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paint brushes and devices for painting locations which are otherwise accessible only with difficulty.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In years past, various devices have been devised to aid in reducing the time and difficulty required to paint both the interiors and exteriors of buildings. Historically, buildings were painted using conventional brushes having a handle which could be grasped, a flattened stock connected to the handle, and bristles fastened to the opposite end of the stock. Painters would then use ladders, scaffolds and other types of supports so that they could move to elevated positions where they could paint the upper portions of walls, ceilings, junctions of walls and ceilings, and ceiling moldings in interior structures as well as eaves, overhangs, gutters, and facia on exterior building surfaces. This process is quite laborious, time consuming and fatiguing, however.
One development which added significantly to the speed with which painting could progress was the paint roller. This device includes an absorbent cylindrical roll rotatively mounted on a wire frame which terminates in a handle. Instead of brushing paint on by using the absorbency of paint brush bristles, paint is instead rolled on so that the paint is carried to the surface of application in the absorbent structure of the roller cylinder. However, paint rollers are inferior to brushes in at least one very significant aspect. While well suited for painting expansive flat surfaces, rollers are unable to cover the junctions between walls and ceilings or to conform to the surfaces of molding or other trim. Thus, it has always been necessary to complete a painting job undertaken with a paint roller by reverting to the prior system of mounting a ladder or other support and completing elevated trim, wall and ceiling junctions using a conventional paint brush.
One further device which has been used with some success to paint wall and ceiling junctions is an absorbent pad mounted upon a flat rigid backing and having small rollers along one edge thereof. This pad can be moved by hand along a linear junction of two plane surfaces, such as wall and ceiling, to paint the intersection thereof on one of the two surfaces at a time. Painting in this manner proceeds fairly rapidly along an area easily accessible by hand. As with a conventional paint brush, however, the length of the stroke is largely limited by the reach of a human arm. An individual using such a paint pad must repeatedly mount and dismount a ladder, repositioning the ladder each time in order to traverse the room perimeter to complete the painting job. Furthermore, because of their flat configuration, paint pads are unable to cover contoured molding, window casings, door casings and other trim. Also, because of the constant physical movement required, use of such a paint pad is just as fatiguing as is use of a conventional paint brush.
One further system which has been employed to paint structures is a paint sprayer. A paint sprayer uses compressed air to atomize liquid paint into a fine mist which is propelled by the compressed air through ambient air onto a surface to be painted. Painting in this manner proceeds quite rapidly and coverage is complete at window frames, wall-ceiling junctions, across molding, door and window casings, and other trim, and at other inaccessible or irregular surfaces to be painted. However, the spray painting compressor, compression tank and atomizing mixer are quite expensive and require considerable storage space. Furthermore, utilization of a paint sprayer applies paint to surfaces with very little control over application of the paint. As a consequence, paint is frequently misdirected in its application or drifts in the air and falls upon stained beams, woodwork, windows, counters, and virtually any other object or exposed structure within a room. The removal of excess paint from surfaces to which paint is erroneously applied, is at the very best extremely tedious and time consuming, and in many instances is totally impractical. For example, paint cannot really be removed from stained wooden surfaces without permanently altering the texture of those surfaces. In addition, spray painting represents a health hazard to the painter and to other individuals in the vicinity. Although the odor of paint exists in all methods of paint application the utilization of a paint sprayer generates a fine mist of paint which hangs in the air. When taken into the lungs of individuals in the vicinity as they breath, this paint represents a a significant irritant and reduces the length of time during which an individual can continuously stay in such an environment and paint.
The present invention provides a means by which locations which are otherwise accessible only with great difficulty can be painted without the use of ladders, scaffolds, or other supports. Because the basic structure of a paint brush has heretofore remained unaltered for virtually hundreds of years, this structure has always been considered a constraint in the utilization of brushes. For example, a conventional brush is shown mounted upon an elongated handle in U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,795. However, such an arrangement is not easily adjustable, as the brush attachment utilizes metal screws and wing nuts which are difficult to engage and disengage and which are easily misplaced when the brush is not attached to the pole or rendered inoperative when covered with paint. Moreover, the device disclosed in the aforesaid patent contemplates the mounting of a brush at right angles to an extension pole. Such a brush orientation makes painting ceiling junctions and elevated molding or trim extremely difficult, since the pole must be held vertically upright while manipulating the brush. This is extremely difficult to do and frequently results in painting mistakes. Moreover, this device, like other prior art systems, falls victim to the very fundamental mistake of failing to alter the construction of the brush itself.